How Autodesk Tandem works alongside BMS

Is Autodesk Tandem duplicating BMS?

The short answer is no. It’s augmenting the possibilities. Digital twin technology complements Building Management Systems (BMS) rather than replacing them. Autodesk Tandem enhances how people interact with and make decisions using BMS data, providing intuitive 3D visualization and spatial context that makes building information more accessible and actionable for facility managers, operators, and stakeholders.

What BMS does

A Building Management System (BMS) controls mechanical functions such as  HVAC, lighting, and security.  However, BMS platforms have significant limitations: they use proprietary protocols requiring specialized integrators, focus narrowly on mechanical systems, and offer only basic 2D interfaces that can’t locate assets or provide spatial context. Buildings are far more complex than that, which is where Tandem comes in, revealing the full depth of the built environment.

What Autodesk Tandem adds

Autodesk Tandem is not a BMS, it’s a digital twin. A digital twin is a data-rich, interactive model that mirrors its built asset, both in appearance and substance. Its value comes from the way it centralizes and contextualizes data during the building’s lifecycle. These comprehensive virtual replicas connect real-life assets and their IT/OT data to a comprehensive digital replica, providing users with both holistic and granular visibility of the information that drives problem-solving in their day-to-day operations.

Autodesk Tandem doesn’t control the facility; it compiles the facility’s data from each connected asset and system by pulling data from the BMS and other systems (such as CMMS, IoT platforms, and BIM tools) to create a unified, visual layer that helps teams make smarter decisions.

Digital twins provide users with insights in a similar manner to navigation apps. Navigational apps mirror the real world, helping us route, and also aggregate timely data that gives us additional context. This extra layer of information about traffic delays, accidents, construction, and even nearby gas stations benefit the end user with actionable insights.

A Digital Twin of a facility is very similar in many ways. While people experience walking around and interacting with a physical building and its assets, they often need to be informed by the building itself. For operators of a facility, this might be information like the room temperature or meeting room occupancy, but for the facilities team it could look like a work order or the ability to aggregate information about an asset without the need to look in multiple systems to find out all there is to know about an AC unit.

Here’s what Tandem enables

• Historical analysis and benchmarking.
• Visualizing and managing building assets, spaces, and systems.
• The creation of system maps for quick insights into how systems and spaces work together.
• Monitoring facility, asset, and system performance; spotting trends or anomalies and investigating data to optimize operations and reduce costs.
• Facilitates digital handovers from design and construction teams to facility operators, ensuring all asset and operational data is accessible and accurate from day one.
• Provides APIs and integration options for customizing data connections and workflows.

How Tandem and BMS Work Together

BMS = Control Layer:

• The BMS is your building’s control center.
• It operates the systems that keep everything running.

Tandem = Intelligence Layer:

• Tandem acts as the insight layer
• It collects and visualizes information from the BMS and other sources, showing how systems, spaces, and assets interact.

Example of how a Facility Manager could leverage a Digital Twin integrated with BMS

1. A facility manager notices through the BMS that a third-floor conference room is running 4°F above target, with Air Handler Unit (AHU)-3 at 85% capacity. The BMS provides the operational data, but Tandem reveals the full picture. The 3D model shows AHU-3 serves both the conference room and an adjacent server room, while historical data indicates the issue started two weeks ago when new server equipment was installed. By visualizing BMS data within the digital twin, the facility manager identifies the root cause: increased server room cooling load maxing out AHU-3. The facility manager uses the information to create a workorder to rezone the server room to better balance capacity.
2. A building’s heating system, including a pump and a boiler, is shown in a Tandem dashboard, displaying scheduled maintenance at different points throughout the year. When examined with Tandem’s system tracing, the connection between them becomes evident. By aligning their maintenance schedules, you can service both simultaneously, reducing multiple downtimes and cutting costs. This demonstrates the hidden cost of inaction: when maintenance isn’t optimized, inefficiencies and unnecessary expenses accumulate rapidly.

The bottom line: Autodesk Tandem & BMS are better together

Autodesk Tandem and BMS serve complementary roles in modern facility management. The BMS remains your building’s control center, operating systems that keep everything running. Tandem acts as the intelligence layer, collecting and visualizing data from the BMS and other sources to reveal how systems, spaces, and assets interact and relate to one another. This separation ensures Tandem enhances the value of your existing BMS investment without duplicating its function, unlocking smarter decisions, faster problem-solving, and more efficient operations.

Ready to see how it works? Try Autodesk Tandem for free today.